Which Weeks Are Cincinnati Bengals Most Likely to Play AFC North Games?

The NFL has been releasing a trickle of matchups ahead of Thursday’s full schedule release, but none of the early drips have involved the Cincinnati Bengals.

So Cincinnati fans must turn to history for hints.

A big question this year is the number of AFC North games will they have early in the season, when the Browns, Ravens and Steelers are adjusting to new coaching staffs.

There is a good chance one of them will come in the season opener, which is likely to be at Paycor Stadium.

It’s a virtual lock that one of them will be in January in the season finale. The Bengals have ended 16 consecutive seasons with a divisional game. The last time they didn’t was 2009 against the Jets, before facing them again in the Wild Card playoff game.

Week 1 is not nearly as consistent, but it is one of the more frequent weeks for Cincinnati to play a division game, happening 10 times in the 24 seasons since the AFC North formed.

The Bengals have only played divisional openers three times in Zac Taylor seven seasons, but each of those three came in the last four openers (2025 at Cleveland, 2023 at Cleveland, 2022 vs. Pittsburgh).

But Week 1 is not the most common week for Bengals’ division games.

Nor is it even second on the list.

Instead, Week 12 is the sweet spot with 13 instances. Six of those have come in the last nine seasons in which the Bengals played in Week 12 (that was their bye week in 2024).

Here are the last nine Week 12 opponents:

2025: Patriots

2023: Steelers

2022: Titans

2021: Steelers

2020: Giants

2019: Steelers

2018: Browns

2017: Browns

2016: Ravens

Right behind Week 12 on the list is Week 13 with 12 instances.

This one is more of distant trend, however. In each of the first seven seasons of the AFC North, the Bengals played the Steelers and Ravens on a rotating basis in Week 13, almost as though it was a formula.

2002: Ravens

2003: Steelers

2004: Ravens

2005: Steelers

2006: Ravens

2007: Steelers

2008: Ravens

Perhaps they have gone back to it. In Week 13, 2024, the Bengals played the Steelers. In Week 13 last year, it was the Ravens on Thanksgiving.

So Weeks 12 and 13 are, mathematically and historically speaking, the most likely spots to find an AFC North opponent this year.

In addition to Week 1, Week 2 and Week 7 are tied for third on the list with 10 instances.

Although Week 7 has been the hotter choice of late, with division games in four of the last five matchups – Steelers in 2025, Browns in 2024, Ravens, in 2021 and Browns in 2020 (it was their bye week in 2023).

There have only been two Week 2 division games in the Taylor era – Ravens in 2023 and Browns in 2020.

Bouncing back to Week 1, the Bengals are almost certain to be at home this season because the Cincinnati Reds are out of town on Sept. 13.

Reds road games don’t automatically mean Bengals home games, but Reds home games always mean Bengals road games because of the close proximity of the stadiums and shared parking spaces.

If the Reds are home on Sunday of Week 1, 2 or 3, the Bengals could still play a home game that week if it’s on a Thursday or Monday, assuming the Reds are away or off those days.

The Reds are home on Thursday and Sunday of Week 2, but not Monday. So a Week 2 appearance on Monday Night Football is possible.

The Reds finish the season with a six-game road trip, so Thursday-Sunday-Monday home options are all on the table in Week 3, but that will be the end of the conflicts (barring a Reds postseason berth, which will be dealt with at the time), so even though there are no conflicts in Week 3, it only slightly increases the chance for a home game.

So the most likely start will be home in Week 1, road in Week 2 and a slight lean toward home in Week 3.

Could the Bengals get division games in both Week 1 and Week 2?

It’s only happened three times since the AFC North formed – 2023, 2012 and 2007.

In case you’re wondering what week is the least likely to feature a division game, there is a clearcut winner.

The Bengals have only played four division games in Week 8 in the last 24 seasons.

Making that even odder is the fact that the team has played in Week 8 nearly every season,, with just two byes since 2002.

The most frequent bye has been Week 10 (six times), followed by Week 9 (four).

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